


the world shines gold and new, I see it all in you

by Shadowcrawler



Series: Kara Palamas is a Lesbian [1]
Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Fusion, Alternate Universe - Percy Jackson Fusion, Alternate Universe - Police, Equestrian, F/F, Femslash February, Paranormal Investigators, Roommates
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-02
Updated: 2018-03-17
Packaged: 2019-03-12 09:00:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 14,371
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13544043
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shadowcrawler/pseuds/Shadowcrawler
Summary: In some worlds, they were happy.(a collection of Kara/Melinda AUs)





	1. where were you, so far removed from any truth (equestrian AU)

**Author's Note:**

> So, last June I wrote almost [40k of Kara/Melinda stories](http://lentils-writes.tumblr.com/tagged/karamel) purely out of saltiness. My writing partner and I came up with the portmanteau "Karamel" for the crackship Kara/Melinda back in summer 2015, and...well...as of late it seems another fandom has been using it for a canon pairing. I had some salty thoughts about this, and decided to write a bunch of Kara/Melinda fic to post under the Karamel tumblr tag.
> 
> Anyway, some of them were better than others, and these are the ones I felt were good enough to post elsewhere. I'll be posting regularly throughout the month. (This won't be my only contribution to the month, either.)

Usually Melinda doesn’t pay too much attention to barn gossip. She likes most of the other riders just fine, but she’s not there to listen to them yammer on about who threw a tantrum after a bad training session or who might be sneaking out behind the barn to make out. She’s just here to train Dust and learn everything she can from Anne.

So when she arrives for the morning lesson and everyone’s chattering, she just rolls her eyes and goes to get Dust ready.

Of course, she didn’t account for the fact that Daisy’s in the stall next to hers, getting her favorite horse Cisco ready. “Melinda!” calls Daisy. “Did you hear there’s a new girl?”

Melinda sighs. “No.”

“Yeah. I think her name is Karen or Kara or something? She’s got an ex-racehorse, he’s seventeen hands or something, freaking _huge_. She’s been showing him on the West Coast, and I guess they’re pretty good, but I heard Anne talking with Robert about it. She’s worried he might be too high-strung for group work.”

“Why would she bring him to _this_ barn if she’s worried he won’t do well in a group?” scoffs Melinda. “She could just get a private trainer.”

“I dunno, it’s just what I heard. Hey, don’t drool on me!”

Melinda snorts. “Leftovers from breakfast, huh?”

“Yup. Lazy bastard was still eating when I came in.” Melinda hears Daisy pat Cisco’s neck affectionately. “Too bad for him, he’s gonna have to work in a couple minutes. Anyway, yeah, so she may or may not show up today, dunno.”

“Alright.” Melinda goes back to brushing Dust, even though her flecked grey coat is clean already.

“You’re not worried?” Daisy asks.

“Worried about what?”

“I mean, if she’s really that good. You might have some competition.” Daisy sounds like she’s amused, which annoys Melinda.

“Competition is healthy,” says Melinda. “It makes us better riders.” She ignores Daisy’s snort and begins tacking up Dust instead of talking any more.

The morning lesson is uneventful - no sign of the new girl or her nervous horse. Melinda puts it out of her mind as soon as they finish the warm-up and start working on jumping. Of course Anne isn’t going to have high jumps out for the group session, but it’s enough to keep Dust on track. The mare actually seems to look forward to the jumps, pricking her ears up when they approach one.

Melinda occupies herself with the post-lesson grooming and giving Dust a carrot or two, and is just carrying her saddle to the tack room when she spots someone unfamiliar down the aisle. She waits until she’s hung up the saddle before stepping out of the tack room and toward the person. “Hi,” she says once she’s within earshot.

The person is wearing a hoodie, even though it’s a good sixty five degrees, so that’s already weird. It’s weirder that they turn around and start walking away from Melinda. But Melinda shrugs it off. Anne wouldn’t let anyone near the barn unless they were supposed to be here. Maybe whoever it is isn’t feeling talkative.

\---

Later in the week, Melinda’s helping the head groom, Phil, muck stalls, when Phil says casually, “So, have you seen that new Thoroughbred yet?”

“Nope,” says Melinda. “I thought maybe it was a rumor. Haven’t seen the new girl either.”

“I saw Anne taking her around for a tour,” Phil says, pitching a forkful of straw into his wheelbarrow. “But she doesn’t seem that friendly. I don’t think she does any group stuff. Anne said it because her horse is nervous, but he’s been a perfect gentleman when I feed him. Dunno, maybe he’s different with a rider.”

“Maybe,” says Melinda. She doesn’t say any more, so Phil lets it drop until they’re both going to dump their wheelbarrows.

“D’you wanna go see him?”

Melinda raises an eyebrow. “Him who?”

“The new horse. Sunny, is what he’s called. He has some fancy name from when he was a racehorse, but I don’t know it.”

“Am I allowed?”

Phil shrugs. “Anne didn’t say we weren’t supposed to go near him, just that his owner didn’t want to take him into group lessons.”

Sunny is enormous - which Melinda knew, because Daisy had mentioned it, but she’s never been near a seventeen-hand horse before and her eyes go just a little wider than normal. He’s a bright bay, with a teardrop-shaped star on his forehead. He’s got his head out the door, ears pricked, and he doesn’t seem at all nervous, just curious.

“Hey there,” Phil says, offering the back of his hand for the gelding to sniff. “Sorry, I don’t have any food for you, we just came to say hi.”

Melinda does the same, and then runs her hand down his neck gently. “He seems sweet,” she says. “Odd that she’d be worried about him.”

“Yeah, I dunno.” Phil shrugs. “Anyway, thanks for your help.”

\---

It becomes kind of a barn meme, or maybe a game - who can learn the most interesting information about the new girl? Daisy overhears Anne on the phone and figures out that her name is actually Kara. Bobbi sees her taking Sunny into the arena as she’s leaving and, after a few days of “research,” figures out that Kara has private lessons with Anne or Robert on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from four to five. Joey manages to sneak into the arena and watch enough to report that she’s definitely a show jumper, and that she’s doing about the same amount of training that Melinda is, or maybe more.

Everyone seems to think Melinda should be more concerned about that than she is. “But what if she _replaces_ you?” asks Jemma, who is sort of high-strung under the best of circumstances. There’s a reason she usually ends up on the bombproof horses.

“That’s ridiculous,” says Melinda. “Nobody’s getting _replaced_. We can have more than one jumper here, you know.”

“Can we?” Fitz asks, eyes wide. “Anne’s only got one show trailer. She might have to pick which of you goes, and what’ll you do then?”

“I’ll deal with it.” Melinda refuses to let their useless panic affect her.

She is curious, though. Not in a competitive way - the way she likes to watch taped shows, to see how other riders take the jumps, how their horses respond to little cues. So one Wednesday afternoon she takes the bus over to the barn, even though she usually takes Wednesdays off, and just sort of...hovers around the entrance to the arena a little after four.

Kara and Sunny are just warming up, but Melinda watches them anyway. Sunny doesn’t seem nervous at all: he’s eager and energetic, but immediately responsive to Kara’s movements. Melinda finds it hard to take her eyes off them. People have told her that she and Dust work well together, but this is...another level.

And when they start jumping, it’s even better. Sunny heads for the jumps with the same amount of enthusiasm as Dust, but even when he lands oddly or takes off too soon, Kara offers him gentle corrections. They’re completely in sync. It’s beautiful to watch.

Melinda’s so wrapped up in this that she jumps when someone behind her coughs. “Melinda,” says a stern voice.

Melinda turns around to see Anne looking at her. “Oh,” she says. “I was, ah-”

“I suppose I hadn’t explicitly told you all,” says Anne, raising an eyebrow, “but Ms. Palamas has asked that no one watch her training sessions.”

“Oh,” says Melinda. “I’m sorry, I just...I wanted to see her ride. You’re always telling me to watch my peers, study their techniques.”

“Yes, at shows and on videotape,” replies Anne. “But Kara has had...a recent personal issue that makes her anxious about riding for spectators, so please respect her wishes in the future.”

Melinda nods. “Alright. I’m sorry, Anne.”

“You don’t need to apologize to me,” Anne says with a shrug. “Perhaps to her, after she’s done, but you might find she’s a bit...shy. Don’t take it personally. She’s been through so much, I can’t blame the poor girl for being reclusive.”

Melinda frowns, but Anne’s already brushed past her. She shrugs and goes to clean Dust’s saddle while she waits for Kara’s lesson to be over.

Finally, she hears Kara leading Sunny back through the barn, and, after waiting an appropriate amount of time for him to be untacked, Melinda wanders over to his stall. “Ah, hey,” she says. “This is a little weird, but I wanted to apologize.”

Kara’s behind Sunny’s neck when Melinda approaches, so Melinda hears a little gasp and then a long pause before Kara says, “For what? Who are you?”

“I’m Melinda. I’ve been...well, I don’t know if Anne’s mentioned me, but I’m the other show jumper here. I was observing your lesson because I wanted to study your techniques, just because Anne’s said that can be helpful, but Anne said you didn’t want anyone watching them. So I wanted to say, I’m sorry for disrespecting your wishes.”

She can hear Kara brushing Sunny, but it sounds like it’s the same spot over and over. Melinda waits for a while, then once it becomes awkward she says, “I can go if you want me to.”

“No, it’s...it’s fine,” says Kara, sounding nervous. “Um, I haven’t met anyone here yet, really, because...how much did Anne tell you?”

“She said you’d had some kind of personal issue that made you not want to ride publicly. That’s all.”

Kara laughs, though it sounds kind of bitter. “Well, that’s one way of putting it. I...I was in a fire.”

Melinda blinks. “I’m sorry.”

“What are you apologizing for?” asks Kara with another strange little laugh. “It was just a horrible accident. Anyway, my, um, my face is...well, they think they can probably fix it over time, with some skin grafts, but it’s still healing and it looks terrible right now. And I didn’t want to deal with that, so I’ve been trying to avoid everyone.”

“You don’t have to avoid me,” Melinda says. “I won’t get weird about it, I promise.”

Kara’s quiet again for a moment. “Okay,” she finally says. “I’m gonna step out from behind Sunny now. If you have to wince, or whatever, it’s okay. I still look pretty bad.”

“I think I can handle it.”

Kara does, slowly, and Melinda sees that while it was kind of hard to see while she was in motion in the arena, there’s a nasty burn scar down about half of her face. She must have made some kind of face because Kara grimaces. “I told you,” she says, looking at the floor. “It’s really bad.”

“Does it hurt?” Melinda asks.

“Not really anymore. It did for awhile - they were pretty bad second-degree burns, some third-degree. But yeah. I haven’t been to a show since it happened.” Kara shakes her head. “I’m lucky Sunny doesn’t care what I look like.”

“He seems sweet,” agrees Melinda. “Have you met my mare, Dust?”

“No, I haven’t done a lot of exploring.” Kara shrugs. “Too anxious. I mean, you’ve probably figured out that Sunny’s not the anxious one, I am.”

“It’s okay,” says Melinda. “You wanna come meet her now? Or whenever you’re done.”

Kara looks surprised, but she nods. “I was just about done.” She grips the brush in her hand a little tighter. “I mean, are you sure? I don’t want you to feel like you have to just because I’m the sad little scarred new girl.”

“I’m sure,” says Melinda. “I’ve been wanting to talk to you for awhile anyway. Nobody else here trains as hard as I do, and I want to hear about some of the techniques you were using earlier. If that’s alright.”

“Y-yeah,” says Kara, giving her a shy smile. “I can talk about them.”

Melinda waits for her to put the grooming kit away and then they head toward Dust’s stall. Kara still looks nervous, but Melinda smiles at her and asks questions, and eventually Kara starts to relax as she talks about little things she does with her seat and heels that Sunny responds to. By the time Kara texts her mom to come pick her up, twenty minutes later, she seems genuinely happy. Melinda gives her her number. It’s so they can keep comparing techniques...or at least that’s what Melinda tells herself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Dust](http://www.ozanimals.com/image/albums/horse/anglo-arabian.jpg) and [Sunny.](http://www.bitsandbytesfarm.com/newz/wp-content/gallery/sunday-wash-20100626/sunny_15.jpg)


	2. you and I, well we don't need to speak, it's the secret that we keep (The Middleman AU)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, okay, this is an AU of a super obscure show called _The Middleman_ that ran for one short season on ABC Family in 2008. The conceit of the show was basically if _Men in Black_ and the Silver Age comics (that featured extremely silly things like Zebra Batman and sentient gorillas) had a baby and the baby starred an even-more-do-gooder version of Steve Rogers and a slightly less misanthropic version of April Ludgate. It's a super delightful show and if you can find it I highly recommend watching it. 
> 
> But, all you have to know for this AU is: the Middleman "solves exotic problems," often extraterrestrial or supernatural; the Middleman has dozens of wacky gadgets for any imaginable situation; the Middleman is a title, not a name, and Middlemen train an apprentice (Phil Coulson is this world's Middleman and Melinda his apprentice); and the show used title cards for every scene, so this fic does too; and in the original show, Wendy Watson (the apprentice and POV character) was called "Dub-Dub" by her roommate because of her initials, so Kara calls Melinda a similar nickname. Oh, and because the Middleman never swears, all swears are bleeped out.

**The illegal sublet Melinda shares with another young, photogenic artist. 7:30 A.M.**

Melinda’s in the middle of her morning yoga routine when her Middle-watch buzzes loudly. Sighing, she opens it. “What, Aida?”

“Have I interrupted something important?” Aida asks, her tone just tending towards sarcasm. “More important than protecting the world from evil?”

Melinda rolls her eyes. “What is it today?”

“There’s a ghost tiger rampaging downtown. Boss wants to debrief you before you head in. Get here as soon as you can, if it isn’t an imposition to you.” Aida switches off her side of the comms, and Melinda sighs and goes to get ready.

Her roommate, best friend, and maybe possibly secret crush Kara, who primarily spends her days either working on her newest performance art piece or protesting her new pet cause, is in the main room mixing what seems to be red dye into corn syrup. “Hey, MM,” she calls. “Headed to the temp agency?”

Melinda nods. As far as Kara knows, every morning for the last four months she heads to the Jolly Fats Wehawkin Employment Agency and is sent out as a temp to a new job. “I should be home for dinner. You?”

“I’m mixing fake blood to protest the new fur shop opening downtown today,” says Kara. “I’m gonna soak myself in it. I think it’ll really add visibility to our cause.”

Melinda blinks. “I hear toothpaste and rubbing alcohol take dye off skin,” she says. “You want me to grab some on the way home?”

Kara smiles. “That’d be great, if you wouldn’t mind. Thanks, MM!”

**Jolly Fats Wehawkin Employment Agency, fifteen minutes later.**

Aida’s at the front desk, as always, to keep up appearances that this is a temp employment agency and not the headquarters for the Middleman operations. The Organization Too Secret To Know (O2STK) insists on the utmost secrecy in their mission to protect the world from evil. Melinda doesn’t pause to say hi to Aida, because that would be pointless, but she does say “See? I’m here.”

“And not a minute too soon,” Aida says, her smile sickly-sweet.

Melinda rolls her eyes and continues on into Middleman HQ to get her Middle-Clothes on, then on to meet her boss.

The Middleman is there as usual, in his green suit and black tie with his thinning brown hair perfectly styled, and looking worried. “MM!” he says. “We have something very important to discuss.”

“Ghost tiger?” Melinda asks, raising an eyebrow. “We’ll need a big catnip mouse.”

“This is serious, MM,” scolds the Middleman. “If it were a regular tiger, that would be bad enough, but a ghost tiger’s strength and abilities are unknown and should therefore be approached with the strictest of cautions. We’ll have to leave immediately.”

Once they’re in the Middlemobile and driving, Melinda asks, “Has the tiger hurt anyone yet?”

“Not yet, but I presume that’s only because everyone has been extraordinarily lucky thus far. This is a spectral carnivore - we have no idea what damage it can cause to the physical world!”

**Downtown. 8:15 A.M.**

Once they’ve parked, the Middleman pulls out the Psychokenesis Meter to locate the tiger. “It seems to be located on Third Street!” he says, starting to jog briskly. Melinda follows him, resting her hand on her Middle-Gun just in case.

The scene that greets them shouldn’t be surprising, at this point, but it is. A glowing, translucent blue tiger is in front of a building has has a giant FUR ELISE sign on the front, menacing not only a group of store employees but also a group of protesters that are huddled together outside. A few of them are still shouting slogans. Including a girl covered in what looks like fake blood and not wearing much, if anything, else...

“Oh, [BEEP],” says Melinda.

 

* * *

 

The police accept their fake IDs from the Paranormal Zoological Association without question. Then, of course, they have to figure out what to do about the tiger, and quickly.

“I’d like to see if the Concussive Stun Field Generator would work on it,” the Middleman says, “but first we have to get everyone out in case it doesn’t.”

“Yeah, using that thing if it didn’t work would be basically like saying ‘hey Mr. Ghost Tiger, thanks for stopping by, we brought you a buffet.’”

“It’s actually Ms. Tiger in this case,” points out the Middleman. “Female tigers are smaller than males, but no less dangerous. Anyhow, perhaps it might be best to distract it or try to stare it off. Shout at it, make loud noises.”

“Hey!” calls Melinda. “Hey, tiger! Look over here at us!” She pulls out her Middle-Gun and fires it at the tiger, but the laser beam passes harmlessly through it, luckily not hitting anyone else, and all it does is growl at her and take a step towards her. “[BEEP],” she mutters.

“Language, MM! Here, try this Middle-flare, it might keep its attention.” He tosses her a red flare and a book of matches.

Melinda lights the flare, while still yelling. “Tiger! Your mother was a hamster and your father smelt of elderberries! You’re a stuck-up, half-witted, scruffy-looking nerf herder! You’re the opposite of Batman!” Then she starts rotating through the curse words, which of course all get bleeped out, and _then_ (just as she’s really starting to get concerned about how close the ghost tiger is getting), the Middleman snaps his fingers and rummages in his pocket and pulls out what looks like a tape recorder. “This might be just what we need.”

“What’s that?”

“It’s a Feline Hypnosonic Cannon,” says the Middleman, pointing it in the tiger’s direction and pushing play. “A Middleman hasn’t had  cause to use it since the Great Feral Cat Invasion of 1943. It - well, observe.”

Sure enough, the device doesn’t seem to be making any noise at all, but the tiger is staring at it as if it’s the most interesting thing she’s ever seen. She opens her mouth as if to roar, but instead yawns, and then she slowly lays down right there on the cement and goes to sleep, head pillowed on one paw.

“Um,” says Melinda. “So it’s like a dog whistle, but for cat lullabies?”

“Essentially, yes,” agrees the Middleman. “I’m told it plays a specially pitched version of Pachelbel’s Canon, although obviously I can’t confirm that.”

“Huh.” Melinda’s about to say more, but just then there’s a roaring noise and everyone starts screaming again as two ghostly grizzly bears charge out of the shop, and one turns and starts running towards the protesters. Including Kara.

“Leaping lesbians!” says the Middleman, alarmed.

“[BEEEEEEEP]!” growls Melinda, running at top speed and knocking Kara to the ground, out of the way of the oncoming bear.

They both get the wind knocked out of them, and it takes Melinda a moment to be able to move again. While she’s sprawled on top of Kara, Kara manages to gasp, “MM? Is that…”

Melinda groans and rolls off of of her. “Do you have a plan yet?” she calls to the Middleman, who’s frantically rifling through his jacket.

“Not presently,” he says, running after one of the bears, “but I’m thinking _very_ hard.”

Melinda looks around quickly. Most of the people nearby have scattered, but one woman is curled into a ball nearby, as if hoping it will make her invisible. She’s muttering something, and when Melinda steps closer, she hears that it’s, “I never wanted this, I never wanted _this_ , this is too much” over and over.

“Ma’am,” she says. “Do you know something about this?”

“I...I just wanted to curse them a little!” the woman exclaims, near-hysterical. “I didn’t know this would happen! I’m sorry!”

“It’s a curse?” Melinda asks.

“I’m a witch. I tried a little black magic, I didn’t realize…” The woman starts to cry. “I’m so sorry!”

After coaxing a little more information out of the hysterical woman, Melinda dashes over to the Middleman, who’s trying (without much success) various Middle-weapons to see if they’ll work on the bears. “It’s a black magic curse!” she says.

“Oh!” says the Middleman. “Excellent!” He pulls out what seems to be an ordinary water bottle and chants something in Latin before dashing over to the destroyed storefront and sprinkling some of the water around it. Almost immediately, the bears vanish mid-growl.

“What was _that?_ ” Melinda asks.

“The Water of Perpetual Blessing,” says the Middleman with a shrug. “Useful for any situation involving demons, black magic, or other general spiritual badness. There shouldn’t be any more issues here.” He raises his voice so everyone who’s still nearby can hear him. “Terribly sorry for all the mess today. The, ah, spectrals have been dealt with, and it should be safe now. Please feel free to return to your shopping or protesting, respectively.”

They’re about to leave when Melinda hears someone calling, “MM! Melinda!” She looks back, even though she shouldn’t.

Kara’s running after them, looking confused. “What are you doing here? What kind of temp job _is_ this?”

“MM, we must leave,” says the Middleman urgently. “If your friend finds out about what you really do, there may be dire consequences.”

So Melinda jogs alongside him, leaving Kara calling after her.

**Corridor to the illegal sublet Melinda shares with another young, photogenic artist. 5:30 P.M.**

Melinda dreads going home, but Aida threatens to make her alphabetize the case archives - _all_ the case archives - if she doesn’t “stop hanging around wasting valuable air.” Even the Middleman looks apologetically at her and says, “You have to face your anxieties sometime, MM. Especially regarding relationships.”

So now she’s walking very slowly so it’ll take a little longer to get up to her sublet. She runs into Trip in the corridor, tuning his guitar quietly as usual. “Hey, Trip,” she says, smiling. Even if she’s in the worst mood, he can always cheer her up.

“Yo, Melinda May,” he says with a lazy grin. “You know what you shouldn’t stop?”

“Believing?” she asks. Trip is sort of like the building’s musical Sphinx, offering riddles to anyone who can answer them.

“Nah. Thinking about tomorrow.”

“Ooh, got me again,” she says.

“You seem down,” he says. “Need a song?”

She shakes her head. “I’ll be alright. Just a long day, a lot happened. Thanks though.”

“My pleasure.”

She’s unsure of what to expect when she gets home. The bathroom door is closed, and when Melinda knocks there’s a long pause before Kara says, “Trying to get the dye out.”

“Want help?” Melinda asks. It’s not like they haven’t seen each other naked before. Probably more times than the average best friends/roommates pair.

There’s another long pause before Kara says, “Yeah. Come in.”

Melinda does, and Kara’s sitting in the tub with a tube of toothpaste and a bottle of rubbing alcohol and looking pissed off. “I can’t believe I did all this work and it was barely even appreciated,” she grumbles. “Sure they canceled the opening, but it was because the store got all smashed up. They’re planning on another grand opening once the repairs are done.”

“Well, you can just do this again when they reopen,” Melinda points out, sitting down on the floor and taking the toothpaste tube from Kara. “Where do you want me to start?”

“My back,” mutters Kara. “Can’t reach back there.” She winces when Melinda starts to spread the cold toothpaste across her back, but then holds still. After a moment or so of silence, she adds, “What exactly is it that you do, MM?”

Melinda sighs. “If I could tell you, I would. I don’t want to keep secrets from you.”

“So don’t!” Kara says. “I won’t say a word to anyone else. I promise.”

“Kara,” says Melinda, “I _really_ can’t tell you. It’s not just about my job, it’s about...about the safety of the world. It has to be a secret for your own good.”

Kara shakes her head. “That sounds like [BEEP].”

“I know. Please believe that if I could tell you, I would.” Melinda concentrates on washing Kara’s back for a minute. “You’re the most important person in my life, you know that.”

“Yeah, I know.” Kara closes her eyes and leans into Melinda’s touch. “Same to you. I just...worry that maybe you’ll go off and get a real job one of these days, and be able to live in a real apartment, and leave me behind.”

“Well, don’t be an idiot,” Melinda says fondly. “Because that’s not gonna happen.”

“I mean, before this morning I was pretty sure ghost bears weren’t gonna happen either,” snarks Kara.

“Shut up.” Melinda runs her fingers through Kara’s hair fondly. “You’ll never get rid of me.”

Kara leans back and turns to kiss Melinda’s cheek, so quickly Melinda’s not quite sure if it actually happened. “I’d better not, MM.”

Melinda smiles and keeps scrubbing the dye out of Kara’s skin.


	3. why do you love those who turn you into a fool (Brooklyn Nine-Nine AU)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you've seen any of Brooklyn Nine-Nine, I hope who the SHIELD characters are standing in for will become apparent quickly. If not, I think it's still enjoyable. Basically, they're cops in a sitcom-y setting.

“Nine Nine, if I could have your attention, please,” Captain Fury says as he walks out of his office, followed by a South Asian woman with dark hair and nervous eyes. “I’d like you to meet our newest squad member, Detective Kara Palamas. She’s been undercover for the past twelve years, becoming a close confidante of Sunil ‘The Butcher’ Bakshi. Please be patient with her as she adjusts to life in the precinct after her terrible ordeal.”

“Wow!” Daisy says, beaming at Palamas. “So cool! I mean, terrible! Y’know,” she adds slyly, “I was undercover in the mafia too. Not for twelve years, but still.”

“Yeah?” Kara asks, staring at Daisy with unnerving intensity. “Did you have to bite off anyone’s finger? Because I did. Bakshi had me bite off a guy’s finger as part of an interrogation. He was going to make me eat it in front of the guy, but he ended up talking. Did you know that human flesh tastes like pork?” Seeing the horrified looks on everyone’s faces, she adds, “Sorry, I don’t really have a filter anymore. Whenever I close my eyes I hear and see all the horrible things Bakshi had me do for him. I’ll try not to talk about them much.”

Daisy blinks. “Um, no, I didn’t have to bite off any fingers. I drank with the other mob bosses a lot though. One time they peer-pressured me into drinking six beers! I had a killer hangover after that, and I learned a valuable lesson about hydrating before binge drinking.”

“You know, we have an on-staff therapist here in the precinct,” Jemma pipes up, smiling nervously. “You might want to make an appointment with Andrew. He’s helped a lot of us through some terrible experiences.”

“Yeah, I had some...issues with guns for awhile, and Andrew and Captain Fury really helped me through that,” says Mack.

Lance coughs. “Um, excuse the hell out of me.”

Mack sighs. “And Lance helped too.”

Kara gives them a doubtful look. “Maybe I’ll try it. I’ve made therapists cry just by telling some of the tamer stories from my time undercover.”

Fury coughs. “Anyway, I think it would be best for all of us to get back to work.” He turns to go back to his office.

“Sir!” Daisy says, following him. “Can I work with Palamas? I think we have a lot in common.”

Fury frowns. “I was gonna have her do stuff around the precinct and not give her any actual cases for awhile. Don’t wanna risk putting her in high-stress situations.”

“Please? Please please _pleeeeeease?_ ” begs Daisy. “I’ll keep it so low-stress, Scout’s honor!”

“You said the Girl Scouts kicked you out for setting a fellow Scout’s hair on fire,” says Fury dryly.

“They never proved it was me!” Daisy protests. “ _Pleeeeeeeeeeease?_ ” She pouts.

“Okay, but only if you stop making that stupid face at me.”

“Yesssss!” Daisy fistpumps and trots back to her desk. “May! Fury said I can work with Palamas!”

Melinda grimaces. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“Why not? She’s so cool! And I’ll have somebody to talk to about undercover stuff. I think she’ll really get where I’m coming from.” Just then there’s a loud smashing and clattering noise, and Daisy turns around to see that Kara’s knocked over a chair by the microwave and punched someone’s mug off the table.

“Sorry!” Kara calls. “Microwave timer startled me.”

“I think she’s bad news,” Melinda says.

“What? May, that’s crazy. Palamas is a hero. With a little bit of a hair-trigger maybe, but still, a hero!”

Melinda shakes her head. “I just have a bad feeling about her.”

“C’mon, May, you gotta give me more than that.”

“Fine.” Sighing, Melinda admits, “I...find her hot and that means she’s probably some kind of weirdo. I’m only attracted to creeps.”

Daisy snorts. “That’s not true. What about Andrew?”

“Andrew’s been the most normal,” says Melinda, “but he still thinks _Cats_ is a good musical.”

“Ew.” Daisy makes a face.

“And you remember Grant.” Melinda doesn’t even have to elaborate on that one; Daisy just makes a horrified face. “See what I mean? I want to shove her up against a wall and put my hands down her pants. That means she must be iffy.”

“First of all, more information than I needed. Second of all, I’ll keep an eye on her,” promises Daisy.

\---

Several weeks later, Kara has proven herself as a capable detective (if a little prone to sudden screaming when startled and graphic descriptions of her experiences with Bakshi). Most of the squad has pretty much gotten used to her.

What they haven’t gotten used to is the palpable and unsettling sexual tension between her and May.

They’re really not subtle about it. Melinda will be picking something up from the printer, and Kara will stand in the door and, blatantly staring at Melinda’s ass, say something like, “Ooh, hot printer pages. I know something else in this room that’s hot.”

Melinda usually turns around and replies something like, “That makes two of us.” Then they stare at each other until someone else, usually Mack or Fitz, tries to awkwardly squeeze by them.

“I know they’re adults who can do whatever they want,” Mack says to Daisy when neither of them are in the room, “but their weird sexual tension thing is making me _really_ uncomfortable.”

“I could try talking to May and tell her to make a move,” Daisy says. “Maybe.” Her face looks as if she’d rather swordfight with a bear naked.

“Or you could talk to Palamas,” suggests Mack. “She likes you. I think.”

Daisy’s face seems to be asking whether the naked sword fight with a bear couldn’t also be underwater, as an alternative.

But while she’s out gathering intel for a B&E with Kara later, she says, probably too casually, “Soooooo. You seem to be hitting it off with May.”

“Do you think?” Kara asks. “I really can’t tell anymore. I kind of just assume everyone I flirt with is secretly trying to get intel from me like I am from them.”

“Um,” Daisy says. “Well, I’m about a thousand percent sure May’s into you-”

“Really?” Kara asks, perking up. “Wow. The last girl I got involved with turned out to be a spy for Hellfire James. That ended when she left me tied up and gagged in a warehouse for six hours before someone came and got me out. I mean, don’t get me wrong, it could’ve been super hot, but I wasn’t in the right headspace for it that day.”

“Um,” Daisy says. “I’m sorry?”

Kara shrugs. “But it just means that I’m really not sure how to go beyond flirting anymore.”

“Hey, I get it. Twelve years undercover is a long time,” says Daisy, “but May will understand.”

“I don’t know if she will,” Kara replies. “I did a lot of _bad_ shit. I don’t know if I really deserve to be happy.”

“You totally do!” Daisy says. “And if May will make you happy, then you should-”

“Huh,” Kara says, blinking. “I hadn’t thought of it that way. Okay, I’ll do it.”

Daisy’s feeling pretty good about herself until they get back to the precinct and Kara says, “May, can we talk?”

“What is it?” May asks, raising an eyebrow.

“Well, I’ve been thinking, and Johnson gave me some great advice earlier. So, Melinda May, will you marry me?”

“ _What?_ ” Melinda and Daisy ask in unison.

“Hey!” Kara asks, turning accusingly to Daisy. “I did what you said! Don’t get weird on me now!”

“Dude, that is not at _all_ what I said!” protests Daisy. “I was just gonna tell you to ask her out! You cut me off before I finished!”

“Daisy, stay out of this,” says Melinda.

“Okay, okay.” Daisy puts her hands up and backs away, heading back to her desk.

“No, I’m not gonna marry you,” Melinda says to Kara. Kara looks a little deflated until Melinda adds, “But I’ll go for a drink with you, and go from there.”

“Sure,” Kara says with a smile.

“Oh, that’s so sweet!” Jemma coos to Daisy. And it is, until Kara shoves Melinda onto her desk and they start making out like the world might end.

“Okay, okay, no!” Mack says, standing up. “Take that outside, guys, c’mon.”

“Hey, don’t look at me,” Daisy says when he turns to glare at her. “I _fixed_ your problem.”


	4. try not to break her heart if you can (grew up together and then moved away AU)

“ _What?_ ” Kara asks, staring at Melinda.

Melinda doesn’t look her in the eye. “We’re moving in a month. Mom says it’s because we can’t afford the rent without Dad here. I said I’d get a job and help with the rent, but she said twelve-year-olds can’t get jobs.”

Kara feels cold all over suddenly. “Where?” she asks in a  very small voice.

“I don’t know yet. Pennsylvania, maybe? My aunt lives there, we might move in with her. Mom thinks she can get corporate to transfer her to their office in Philly.” Melinda draws patterns in the carpet with her finger. “Kara, I...I don’t want to go. I can’t leave you.”

Kara swallows. Her eyes feel hot all of a sudden. “Don’t,” she manages to gasp. “Maybe, maybe I can talk to my mom, maybe you can move in with us, maybe-”

“No,” says Melinda, shaking her head slowly and finally looking up to meet Kara’s eyes. She’s crying. Melinda never cries. Kara’s only seen her cry once, when they were seven and Melinda fell out of the tree in her front yard and broke her arm. “No, I tried thinking of everything. It won’t work, Kara. I have to leave.”

“No!” Kara shouts, standing up. “You can’t! There has to be another way!”

“Don’t shout,” pleads Melinda. “Your mom will come in and-”

“I don’t care!” Kara picks up the first thing within reach - an old chili can full of pens and pencils on top of her desk - and throws it. She doesn’t throw it at Melinda, but a couple of the pencils land at her friend’s feet.

Melinda looks at her sadly. “I’m sorry, Kara, I…”

“Leave me alone!” Kara yells, flinging herself onto her bed. Then she starts crying so loudly she doesn’t even hear the door shut behind Melinda.

Her mom tries to tell her she needs to talk to Melinda. “Honey, she’s been your best friend since kindergarten,” she says. “You have to say goodbye. You’ll regret it if you don’t.”

“No!” says Kara. “If she was really my best friend she wouldn’t leave!”

“That’s not really how it works,” says her mom, reaching to rub her back gently. “I know it’s frustrating and sad, but-”

“I’m never speaking to her again!” snaps Kara. “Not _ever!_ ”

Her mother sighs. “Okay. Okay. I can’t make you.” She stands up. “I’m going to go start dinner.”

Kara’s careful to wait until her mother leaves the room before she starts sobbing again.

\---

_Six years later_

Kara looks at the letter, written in near-perfect cursive, and raises her eyebrow at her mother. “Why are you giving me this?”

Her mother chuckles. “Well, to be honest, I meant to give it to you much sooner, but I just misplaced it. I just happened to find it the other day while I was sorting through some old files and thought, what the hell, you’re probably ready to have it now.”

“Why would I care about this?”

“Well, she _was_ your best friend for six years. I thought it might be nice for you to revisit old memories now that it isn't so...raw.”

Kara snorts. “You mean, now that I’m not throwing a fit like a toddler?”

“You said it, not me.” Her mom winks at her. “Anyway, just something to read between all the packing, if you want.”

Kara nods and goes back to her room. She means to just tuck the letter away in a box and forget about it, but instead she lets her eyes skim over the first paragraph. Just out of curiosity.

_I know you’re mad at me, and that means you probably won’t read this right away. You’re my best friend - that means I know pretty much everything about you. When you’re mad, you stay mad. I just hope you won’t stay mad at me forever._

Kara sits down on her bed. There’s still stuff she needs to pack - she leaves for UCSC in less than two weeks - but she’s curious about the rest of the letter now.

_I get why you’re mad. I’m pretty mad too, I just didn't show it. I hate that Dad left. I hate that Mom’s job doesn't pay enough for us to stay here. I hate that I might never see you again. You’ve been my best friend since before I can remember. I don’t know what I’m gonna do without you._

Kara honestly tries not to think about Melinda too much. It makes her sad, but it also makes her angry - at the world, for separating them, but mostly at herself, for being such a selfish asshole and not saying goodbye.

Most of her queer friends have a Moment that they can point to and say, yes, this was when I should have realized I was queer. She thought about it for a long, long time before realizing, suddenly, that her Moment wasn’t a single moment but hundreds of moments, all of them involving Melinda. She hadn’t known at twelve - why would she? - but she’d had a crush on her best friend and not known how to say it.

She reads the rest of the letter, and once she reaches the end, where Melinda copied out an address and phone number for an address in Pennsylvania, Kara grabs her phone and dials the number. She gets an answering machine for someone named Roger and quickly hangs up. That was stupid. Why would a number from six years ago still be connected to Melinda?

She puts it out of her mind and keeps packing.

\---

Orientation week is crazy, and by the third day Kara’s head is spinning. Luckily her roommate seems content to leave her to her own devices, barely coming into the room except to sleep. She barely even sees Bobbi until they all huddle for a floor meeting with their RA that night.

The RA, Anne, smiles at everyone before starting off introductions. “Say your name, your year, your major if you have one, and a fun fact about yourself.”

It’s a little bit middle school, but Kara’s pretty bad with names so she tries to pay attention. She’s so absorbed in trying to nail down everyone’s name that she almost misses when someone says “My name is Melinda May, I’m a freshman, business major, and I have two black belts.”

Kara’s mouth feels dry. She must have misheard that, right? She sneaks a look at the girl who spoke - Chinese, long dark hair, slightly amused smirk. There have to be a ton of East Asian girls with similar names, right?

She keeps an eye on the girl all the same, trying to be subtle, and there’s an unmistakable moment of shock that crosses her face when Kara introduces herself. There are still about half a dozen girls after her, but Kara’s stopped paying attention and is just trying to figure out what the fuck to do now.

When they all file out of the room, Kara hovers outside, waiting for the girl to come out. “Um,” she says, when she’s finally face-to-face with her. “Hi.”

“Kara?” Melinda asks. “It’s really you, isn’t it?”

“I guess so, yeah.” Kara laughs nervously. “I...I got your letter. I mean, like two weeks ago. My mom lost it and only just found it. I’m sorry I was such an asshole about everything.”

Melinda’s staring at her like she’s seeing a ghost. “I thought I’d never see you again,” she says quietly.”

“Yeah, same here.” Kara gives her a sheepish grin. “You, um. You look good.”

Melinda seems surprised by that, and she just laughs. “I’m not twelve anymore,” she says, a hint of the old teasing in her voice. “And neither are you.”

“Nope.” Kara glances around. “Listen...do you wanna come back to my room? We can talk more? It’s okay if you don’t, but I wanted to…”

Melinda’s nodding. “I want to,” she says. “This is...I never expected it.”

“Me neither.” Kara shrugs. “I guess maybe the universe is giving us a second chance?”

“Something like that,” Melinda says wryly.


	5. and everything you knew slips away at the hem of her dress (Deadwood AU)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Deadwood was a TV show that ran for 3 season on HBO from 2004-2006 and was a dramatization of the growth and development of the town of Deadwood, South Dakota. It's a Western...no, wait, come back! It's a Western with some of the best character development and highest quality dialogue I've ever seen on any television show. It incorporates multiple historical figures in a fictionalized manner, including Wild Bill Hickock, Calamity Jane, and Wyatt Earp. I love it.
> 
> Anyway, this is sort of based on the storyline of Seth and Martha Bullock, the latter of whom is Seth's brother's widow and who moves to Deadwood so he can take care of her after her husband's death. You don't actually need to know anything about Deadwood (but if you do, guess who Izzy is supposed to be! it's not hard lol).
> 
> This is also my favorite of all of these one-shots I did.

The coach comes to a stop in the center of town, close enough to be seen from the saloon front porch.

“Well, well, well, Sheriff,” Izzy remarks, chewing on a cigar. “If it ain’t your lady, arriving right on schedule.”

Melinda glares at her, but then stands up and makes her way over to the coach. She’d never admit to being anxious, but she is a little...apprehensive. A year ago, before she’d come to Deadwood, her old friend and business partner Antoine had died suddenly, leaving behind a wife and daughter. He’d asked her in his will to care for Kara and Ella should anything happen to him. So Melinda’s looked after her ever since, and been sending money to Antoine’s home in Texas once she left for Deadwood, but she always figured Kara would come out to Deadwood eventually. And now she’s here.

Melinda opens the coach door and helps first Ella and then Kara out. Ella’s about four or five, with brown skin a few shades darker than Kara’s and a miniature version of Antoine’s easy smile. “Hi!” she says, grinning at Melinda. “Mama says we’re gonna live with you.”

“That’s right,” says Melinda, trying for a smile. “How was your trip?”

“Fine,” says Kara. She gives Melinda a small, nervous smile back. She never said much when Melinda was at Antoine’s house, so that’s not unusual.

Melinda grabs the heaviest of her bags and says, “Follow me. The house is this way, it’s not far.”

It’s a nice house, Melinda made sure of that. She designed it and did much of the building herself (Mack and Phil helped with some of the taller parts). Kara perks up when she sees it. “Wow,” she says quietly. “It’s a fine house.”

“I hoped you’d like it,” says Melinda.

Once they’re inside and have Ella settled in what’s to be her room, Melinda shows Kara to another bedroom. “This one’s yours, if you want it,” Melinda says. “Don’t feel like you have to share mine.”

Kara looks a bit startled. “Oh.”

“I don’t want you to feel obligated to me,” Melinda adds. “Antoine and I were like siblings, which is why I figure he asked me to take care of you. But you don’t have to think of me as your new husband...or wife, I suppose.” She snorts. “Either way. I won’t push you for anything.”

“Thank you,” Kara says. “I...appreciate that.”

Melinda nods. “There’s some food in the pantry if you or the little one are hungry. I have business to attend to this afternoon, I’ll start a stew cooking for supper and should be home by then. If you should need anything before I’m back, my friend Daisy’s at the bank. She’ll help you out.”

Kara nods. “I might take Ella and look around a little later. She should be napping now.”

“Alright,” Melinda says. “Anyone gives you any trouble, they’ll have me to answer to.”

\---

They fall into a strange rhythm together. Melinda wakes up about the same time Kara does, and they often eat breakfast together in companionable silence. Melinda often has some matter or another in town that needs her attention, but even if she doesn’t, she doesn’t bother Kara much when she’s at home. The other woman’s likely still grieving her husband _and_ raising her young daughter, she doesn’t need Melinda in her space too.

Melinda doesn’t ask her to find a job, but she ends up using part of the money Antoine left her to become a bank partner with Daisy. “I need a reason to leave the house,” she explains. “See other people.” Melinda nods; of course she understands that.

Ella’s a sweet girl. She asks questions, but Melinda mostly doesn’t mind them. Somehow - to both Kara and Melinda’s consternation - she becomes enamored of Izzy, who seems to find her amusing and will sometimes watch her when Kara needs to meet with Daisy at the bank. “I won’t teach her to shoot,” Izzy promises with a wink. “Not until she’s bigger.”

She does start teaching the girl how to ride a horse though. “She needs to learn, if she’s gonna live out here,” she says when Kara tries to protest. “And old Ted here wouldn’t get spooked if you put a bomb under his ass.”

The horse in question is an ancient swayback gelding, who seems to spend his entire day half-asleep. Kara eyes him dubiously but says, “Alright.”

She’s not unkind to Kara at all - she smiles at her when she comes home, makes sure she has what she needs. She can’t deny she’s a little uncertain of how to act around her, though. If she were in Kara’s situation, she’d want her benefactor to keep a respectful distance, so she does. She doesn’t want Kara to feel like she’s pushing her for anything.

Then one night after Ella’s in bed, Kara’s washing dishes, and she’s handling them a little more roughly than usual. Melinda’s cleaning her gun and looks up, raising an eyebrow. “You alright?” Kara’s back is to her, so she can’t tell if she’s just being a bit clumsy or is actually upset

Kara flinches as if Melinda shot her and drops the plate she’s holding into the sink. Luckily, it doesn’t break, but it’s loud enough to be startling. “I’m fine,” Kara says, sounding as if it’s painful to get the words out.

“You don’t sound fine.”

Kara shakes her head. “You barely speak to me. Why would you care how I’m feeling?”

“Oh,” Melinda says. “Kara, come here.”

Kara turns to look at her finally, eyes narrow and jaw clenched. “I know this isn’t what you wanted,” she says, somewhere between angry and accusatory. “Your old business partner’s wife and child to look after. I’m sure you want a family of your own and having us forced on you fucked that up for you. That’s why you left for Deadwood so quickly after Antoine died, isn’t it? You couldn’t stand being around us, around _me._ Why? Were you in love with him and we reminded you too much of him, of what you’d never have with him?”

“Jesus,” says Melinda. “Where’d you get a fool idea like that?”

“Antoine wanted you to care for us,” snaps Kara, “but you left when his body was barely cold in the ground! I hoped it was just ‘cause you were trying to make a better life out here in South Dakota and things would get better once we were all together again, but you barely acknowledge that I’m here! Sure, you make me supper and smile when you come home but you don’t really _talk_ to me! I feel you watching me, like you’re watching a wild animal and you’re not sure what it’s gonna do next. I ain’t asking for you to replace Antoine, but you could at least be _friendly_ for God’s sake!”

Melinda blinks. That outburst was the last thing she was expecting. “Come over here,” she says. “Let’s talk. Quieter, so we don’t wake Ella.”

Kara laughs sort of bitterly, but she comes over to sit down in one of the other chairs. Once she’s settled, Melinda says, “You’re right. I’ve been standoffish. It’s nothing to do with you specifically, I just...I never really expected to have anything like this. It’s an adjustment.”

Snorting, Kara replies, “What do you mean by that, _anything like this_?”

“I don’t know what Antoine told you about me,” Melinda continues. “That’s why I told you the first day that I didn’t expect you to share my bed. I certainly wasn’t in love with him, that’s ridiculous. He was one of the few that know that I prefer the company of women.”

Kara’s eyes widen. “He didn’t mention that,” she says, more quietly.

“Well, now you know.” Melinda shrugs. “I kinda assumed I wouldn’t have anything long-term, maybe a night or two with a girl if I kept it quiet. I sure wasn’t counting on kids. It was fine, I had Antoine and the store to worry about. Then he was dead, and suddenly I got his pretty wife and little girl to worry about, and I didn’t know what the hell to do about it. I thought Deadwood might be good - a place where you might find another husband, maybe, and where I could clear my head and figure it all out.”

Kara tosses her head and almost smiles. “You think I’m pretty?” she asks.

Melinda snorts. “That all you took from that?”

“No, I just…” Kara laughs. “I spent the last year thinking you hate me, when you don’t at all!”

Melinda shrugs and says, “I never have. Just didn’t want you to feel like I expected anything of you. I’m sorry if I’ve made you feel I did.”

“I’m glad you don’t,” Kara says. “I’d...I’d like to talk with you more often, if you wouldn’t mind.”

“I’m not much of a talker, but I can try.”

“Doesn’t have to be much. Just want to feel like you give a shit about me.” Kara smiles, and for the first time it seems like she means it.

“I do,” says Melinda. “I’ll see what I can do.”

\---

After that, she tries harder to talk to Kara. They usually talk a little after dinner and then some after Ella’s in bed. Sometimes it’s about Antoine, sometimes not. Melinda hasn’t really spoken to anyone about him since the funeral, and she finds that sharing memories is just what she needed.

She tries desperately to ignore the warm feelings that start to flare up in her whenever she looks at Kara. It doesn’t work well.

Fall draws to a close, and with it comes colder weather. The first night it’s cold enough to snow, Melinda’s preparing for bed when there’s a quiet knock on her bedroom door. It’s Kara - of course, who else would it be - looking apprehensive. “Could I…?”

Melinda nods. “C’mon in.”

Her bed’s big enough for two, but Melinda’s not used to sharing it. She tries to keep to her own side, not push physical contact if Kara doesn’t want it, but she wakes up the next morning to Kara wrapped tightly around her. “Oh,” Kara says, seeming embarrassed. “I’m sorry, Antoine and I - I guess I got used to that.”

“It’s alright,” Melinda says, smiling.

The next night, Kara curls up tightly as far away from Melinda as possible, until Melinda scoots close to her and runs a hand over her back. “No need to make yourself small,” Melinda says. “It’s a cold night. We could both use the warmth.”

Kara rolls over to look at her, expression unreadable, but she nestles against Melinda and murmurs, “Thank you.”

Melinda starts having dreams about kissing her...about doing more than kissing, too. She’s able to shrug them off, until Izzy says one day, “Y’know, she’s falling for you.”

“What?”

“Kara. She looks at you like a lovesick pup. If you’re not gonna do something about it, you should let her down easy. And let her know that my shoulder’s available to cry on.” Izzy waggles her eyebrows.

Melinda rolls her eyes and shoves her friend. “Don’t you dare,” she scolds.

“Then you better,” says Izzy.

One evening when they’re getting into bed, Kara slips in next to Melinda and then, almost shyly, presses a kiss to her cheek. “Goodnight,” she says, settling in.

But Melinda coughs and says, “Kara, can I kiss you?”

The only light in the room is the candle on the bedside table, so Kara’s expression is hard to read, but she nods.

Melinda leans up to kiss her, gentle at first. “That alright?” she asks.

“Please,” Kara says. “I’ve been...please.”

Melinda keeps it gentle and slow, not sure how Kara’s feeling, but the other woman kisses her back so eagerly that soon Melinda stops worrying about going slow. They go to sleep tangled together, content.

When Melinda wakes up, she wonders for a second if it was a vivid dream. But Kara’s lying there, eyes soft, and she says “Morning” like she can’t believe it either, and Melinda hopes if Antoine is watching, he’s not angry. (She’s sure he wouldn’t be.)


	6. you're a sweet young thing and you're oh so gifted (sex toy package AU)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I did not save the post this prompt was from, like an asshole, but it was basically "one character receives the other's box of sex toys they ordered by accident, shenanigans ensue." I had trouble connecting those two points without them being in a relationship already, so uh, enjoy?
> 
> (SMUT IS SCARY BYE)

Melinda’s not home yet when Kara gets home from work, which isn’t surprising. Mel works downtown, and Kara’s office is maybe fifteen minutes away, so she’s almost always the first one home. She usually uses the extra time to get the mail, start dinner, and do other chores.

Today’s mail is pretty boring - except for the package. It’s a box, addressed to Melinda, but honestly about half the time they use the same account for websites and Kara’s expecting some books in the mail, so it might be for her.

Once she’s inside the apartment, she opens the box - and then proceeds to blush even though nobody can see her. Inside the box is a purple dildo, a black-and-white wand-style vibrator, a bottle of lube, and a strap-on harness that’s designed to look like a pair of briefs, except for the O-ring in the front.

None of those things are particularly shocking, just unexpected. She has a couple of toys and so does Melinda - they’ve used them on each other before, it’s nice. But Melinda’s not the type to order them out of the blue.

When Melinda comes in, the first thing Kara says is, “Is the dildo for you or me?”

Melinda snorts. “Hi to you too,” she says, clearly amused. “And technically, it’s for both of us. It’s for your birthday though, so I was gonna let you pick first.”

“Oh,” says Kara, grinning. “But my birthday’s like two weeks away.”

Shrugging, Melinda says, “We can celebrate early. If you want.” She smirks. “How about it?”

“Later. Food first,” replies Kara. “Then you can fuck me.”

\---

“ _Dammit,_ ” Kara hisses as Melinda teases her clit with the vibe. “Quit teasing me!”

“Why?” Melinda asks, rolling the vibe’s head lazily around. “This is pretty fun.”

“Not for _me!_ ”

Melinda clicks it up to the next speed, grinning when Kara yelps. “I don’t know, you seem like you’re enjoying yourself.” She runs her fingers over Kara’s center, overly casual.

Kara jerks at the contact, whining. “Come on, put something in me!”

Melinda slips one finger inside Kara and uses her other hand to lube up the dildo. “Better?”

“You know what I meant! Fuck!”

“Fine, fine.” Melinda snorts and sets the vibrator aside. “Greedy.”

“Damn right,” pants Kara. “You’re the one who-” She cuts herself off mid-sentence with a moan as Melinda slides half of the dildo into her. “Fuck,” she gasps. “It feels a little smaller than the others, though.”

“Yeah, I know,” Melinda says, looking smug, and then starts thrusting her hips in and out, barely giving Kara a warning.

Not that Kara minds, given the noises she’s making. “Fuck _fuck FUCK!_ ”

Melinda huffs a laugh, careful to keep the rhythm going while she gasps, “The reviews I read said it was good for G-spotting.”

“Yep yes oh my god yes,” groans Kara. “Keep, keep-”

“That’s the plan,” says Melinda, smirking.

She doesn’t have to keep it up for much longer before Kara wails and shudders her way through her orgasm. “Shit,” she gasps,

Melinda gently pulls the toy out and, after setting it aside, leans down to give Kara a kiss. “I thought you’d like that.”

“I really really did.”

 


	7. and we might have seen something but we ain't seen nothing yet (android AU)

Melinda usually doesn’t go near the labs. She’s busy enough managing three different projects, so even if she wanted to go visit Bobbi and the others, she doesn’t have time. But it’s the last day before a three-day weekend and nobody really wants to do any work, so she texts Bobbi.

_Lunch?_

_Yeah totally! Meet me in the lab at 12:30. I can introduce you to my new project :)_

The last “project” Bobbi introduced her to was some lab mice that had learned to complete an obstacle course, which Bobbi seemed far more excited about than Melinda. But Bobbi’s enthusiasm is endearing, so Melinda shrugs and heads over there to meet her.

When she arrives, Bobbi comes to meet her, grinning. “C’mon in!” she says. “Technically this project is still top-secret, but I know I can trust you not to say a word.”

“My lips are sealed,” says Melinda. “What do you have this time? Dancing mice?” She smirks.

“Please, that was nothing compared to this.” Bobbi beckons her into an area of the lab that’s blocked off with dividers that have signs that say things like TOP SECRET PROJECT AREA and DON’T PEEK and KNOCK BEFORE ENTERING. “It’s a little bit overkill,” she says with a shrug, “but interns, man. They get nosy.”

Whatever Melinda was expecting, it wasn’t a cute girl staring back at her.

“Hi,” says the girl, tilting her head at Melinda. “Who are you?”

Melinda blinks and looks at Bobbi. “She’s not just a girl, is she?”

“Nope,” Bobbi replies gleefully. “I made her! I’ve been experimenting with AI for like seven months and I finally got it to the point that I could put it in a human-shaped body. This is KARA, or Kick Ass Robot Assistant.”

Melinda’s surprised enough to laugh. “ _Really?_ That acronym?”

“Yeah,” KARA says. “What’s wrong with that?” She narrows her eyes. “It’s my name.”

“Oh, she talks like a real person,” says Melinda. “Great.”

“Well, I didn’t want her to come across like all those boring polite robots,” says Bobbi defensively. “She has personality.”

“Damn right,” chirps KARA.

“Cute,” deadpans Melinda. “So what else does she do?”

“Right now she reads my emails and responds to most of them based on a series of form responses, and fields my calls, and tracks my appointments.”

“So...you made a smartphone.” Melinda tilts her head. “A smartphone that’s shaped like a hot girl.”

KARA perks up a little. “You think I’m hot?” She tosses her hair and smirks at Bobbi. “I told you other people would think so.”

“Yeah, well, they didn’t basically _make_ you,” says Bobbi, rolling her eyes. “If I thought you were hot, that’d be weird. I can't want to fuck you, I created you so I'm like your mom or something. Only skeezy dudes want to fuck the robots they make.”

Melinda, who meant it as more of a throwaway compliment, is embarrassed and says, “Anyway, were we going to lunch? Now that you’ve shown me your glorified smartphone?”

“Hey!” KARA says. “I can do more than that. She’s not using me to my full capacity.”

“Christ almighty, I didn’t realize I’d programmed a surly teen,” grumbles Bobbi. “Yeah, Mel, we can head out. KARA, can you file those lab reports I finished earlier?”

KARA frowns, but nods. “Alright.”

\---

When Melinda returns to her desk and checks her email, there’s one that says it’s from Bobbi with the subject line “Hi.” She frowns and opens it.

_Hi, Melinda. I searched the employee database until I found someone whose profile picture matched the facial scan I took after meeting you. I hoped we could talk more._

_Sincerely,_

_KARA_

Melinda frowns. So Bobbi’s robot has now gone rogue and is looking her up in the database. This isn’t at _all_ going to lead to a bad sci-fi movie. She hovers over the DELETE button, then instead clicks REPLY.

_You realize this is more than a little creepy, right? Why do you want to talk to me anyway?_

It’s not five minutes before she gets a response.

_If I’m bothering you, tell me to stop and I will. I’m bored, and Bobbi doesn’t give me enough to do. You seemed much more interesting._

_I thought robots couldn’t get bored._

_I’m different. I have “personality,” like she said. My personality includes being bored when I don’t have enough to do. Did you mean it when you said I was hot?_

Melinda sighs.

_Look, I have to get back to work, I can’t spend all day chatting with a robot. But...I did, yes._

_I’ll let you get back to work. And thank you. I thought you were hot as well. Can I email you again?_

Melinda stares at the email, unsure of what to do now. It’s weird to think a robot is hot, right? She’s seen _Ex Machina._ Then again...having a robot pen pal might be a fun thing to break up her hectic days.

_Yes, you can email me. If I don’t respond, I’m busy and I’ll get to it when I can._

_It’s okay. I won’t take it personally. ;)_

Oh, so the robot uses emoticons. Great.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> spoiler alert Melinda fucks the robot


	8. why do I keep dreaming of you? Is it all because of my rebel heart? (merfolk/siren AU)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Based on [this prompt](http://auideas.tumblr.com/post/140071765807/have-any-sirenmermaid-aus): "Character A is a siren whose face is badly scarred from a boat accident, but their voice is still absolutely magical. Character B is a mermaid who has been pining after Character A for the longest time, but isn’t sure how to express their feelings." Because...really now.
> 
> also haha WHOOPS this...did not all get posted in FemFeb. I am sorry. ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯

Melinda often goes to the cave on the south side of the nearest island to gather food. Some of the older merfolk roll their eyes at her, but she likes to listen to the sirens. She’s heard the stories, of course - the sirens catch sea creatures and eat them, they lure sailors to their doom with their voices and consume their flesh as well - but their songs are beautiful. 

Today one voice in particular stands out to her. It surrounds Melinda, envelops her; it makes her feel safer and happier than she ever has before. She slips up on the rock for a minute, closing her eyes until the voice finishes the last note. Then, when other voices start again, Melinda slides back into the water and starts to swim toward the neighboring island. 

Merfolk don’t usually enter the territory of the sirens, and vice versa, but the two groups have no quarrel. They largely ignore each other. Melinda doesn’t fear any harm befalling her by swimming this far, but she doesn’t expect to be welcomed either. That doesn’t matter. She has to find the owner of that voice.

She finds them sunbathing on the rocks, a few still humming lazily but most dozing in the warm sun. They’re such strange creatures to Melinda’s eyes, with two long appendages sticking out of the lower half of their body that they use to move on dry land, and wings sprouting from their backs. The rumor is, they can’t swim at all. They can’t fly far either; they’re cursed to remain close to their island, tricking their prey into coming to them. It seems a sad life to Melinda, but they don’t look unhappy.

One of the sunbathing ones, with pale skin and hair that’s long and black except for two blood-colored streaks in it, spots her coming and sits up. “You’re far from your home, mermaid,” she says. “What brings you to our island?”

Melinda stops a respectful distance from them. “I want to meet the one with the voice I’d never heard before today,” she says. “I listen to your songs often, but today there was a new singer. Her voice was more beautiful than any others I’d heard. I wanted to tell her that.”

A few of the other sirens giggle, but the black-and-red-haired one silences them with a glare. “This is unusual,” she says. “We do not sing for your kind.”

“I know,” says Melinda. “But some of us enjoy it regardless.”

The siren opens her mouth to respond, but then another one calls, “Victoria, please. I’m the one she’s looking for,” and flies over to sit next to Victoria. She has light brown skin, similar to Melinda’s, and shiny black hair and wings. “My name is Kara.”

Sirens are beautiful. They must be, to help lure in foolish sailors who steer their boats into the rocks on the sirens’ island. Still, Melinda is unprepared for the way her heart beats faster when she looks at Kara’s face. “Kara,” she says. “I’m Melinda. Thank you for...for sharing your voice today.”

Kara tosses her hair and smiles. “You’re welcome, I suppose. We weren’t singing for a particular reason today. Just for...pleasure, I suppose.”

“I enjoyed it very much,” says Melinda, smiling back.

One of the sirens, with hair the color of fire, smirks. “Careful, Kara,” she teases. “The merfolk won’t be pleased if you go falling in love with one of them.”

Kara turns to glare at her. “You could be practicing your scales, Lorelei,” she says pointedly. “And minding your own affairs.”

Lorelei just laughs and lays back down. The other sirens roll their eyes and a few break into spontaneous song, but most ignore Melinda.

Kara looks back at Melinda. “Would you like to come with me and talk elsewhere?” she asks. “Where the others won’t bother us?”

Melinda nods. “Where?”

“Follow me.” One minute Kara is crouched on the rock, the next she’s launched herself into the air. Melinda swims after her, curious about where they’re headed.

Kara stops once they’re far enough that her fellow sirens can’t see or hear them. “Don’t mind them,” she says, perching on a rock. “They don’t think much of merfolk. They say you’re silly and weak because you only eat kelp and other plants, not flesh.”

“Well, most merfolk don’t think much of sirens,” says Melinda, not unkindly. “They say you’re cruel and eat any creatures you can find, but especially humans. They say you trick them with your voices and kill them for sport.”

“We do eat humans sometimes,” Kara says, “but not for sport. And not all sailors are cursed by our songs either. Our voices touch the hearts of only those men who have evil within them.”

“I was never told that,” Melinda says, tilting her head. 

Kara shrugs. “Sometimes we can catch fish or other sea creatures, but since we are confined to this island and a short distance around it, we have few other choices. If we didn’t use our voices, we would starve.”

Melinda frowns. “I’m sorry.”

“I like to sing,” says Kara. “I would sing even if I didn’t have to. But what about the merfolk? Why  _ don’t _ you eat flesh?”

Melinda blinks. “The fish and other creatures in the sea are our friends. We can speak to them as I’m speaking to you. Why would we eat our friends?”

Kara chuckles. “I suppose that makes sense. I don’t think you’re weak for that. It sounds nice to have creatures besides those like you to talk to. I don’t get to talk to anyone except the other sirens.”

“That sounds lonely.”

“It’s our life,” replies Kara. “I’m not unhappy. But I’m enjoying talking to you now. Your tail is beautiful. I saw it earlier when you were swimming.”

“Thank you.” Melinda doesn’t give much thought to her tail - it’s very dark blue, almost black, with brighter highlights that show up in the sunlight. She knows some of the other merfolk spend more time grooming their tails, but it’s nice that Kara likes hers. “Your wings are beautiful too.”

Kara ruffles her wings just slightly, clearly pleased. “Thank you too.”

Melinda’s about to say something else, but just then another siren, this one with golden hair and wings, lands on a nearby rock. “Kara,” she says. “You should come back now.”

Kara looks unhappy, but says, “Alright, Barbara,” before glancing at Melinda. “Will you come back tomorrow?” she asks. “I’d like to talk more.”

“I can’t tomorrow,” says Melinda, “but the next day?”

“Yes,” says Kara, and she smiles. “Goodbye, Melinda.”

“Goodbye, Kara.” Melinda watches the two sirens fly away until she can’t see them anymore. Then she leaves, a strange warm feeling in her chest.

\---

Melinda slips away to meet Kara at every opportunity after that. When she can’t meet her, she tries to at least go to the cave so she can listen to her sing. Most of the other merfolk are baffled by her behavior, but her best friend Phil seems to understand. “Her voice is beautiful,” he says once, when he comes along to the cave to listen.

Melinda nods. “She’s beautiful.”

Phil smiles at her, but his eyes are sad. “You’re in love with her, aren’t you?”

Melinda flicks her tail irritably. “No! She’s my friend. I like talking to her.”

“Please be careful,” Phil says. “I don’t want you to get hurt.”

“I  _ won’t _ ,” retorts Melinda, jumping into the water and swimming away.

One day, she and Kara have slipped away to talk when Kara suddenly stops in mid-sentence and perks up. “I have to go,” she says, spreading her wings. “There’s a boat coming.”

“Oh,” Melinda says. “Alright.”

“You should go,” Kara adds. “I’ll see you tomorrow.” She takes off without another word.

But Melinda doesn’t leave. She’s curious about how the sirens lure in the sailors, though she’d never admit it to anyone. She swims around to where the sirens are, taking care to keep herself hidden from view.

There’s a small dinghy rowing towards the island, much too fast, with three men inside. The sirens are all singing now, staring at the boat with gleaming eyes. The boat hurtles toward the rocks, and before Melinda can blink it’s crashed into it.

The men try to scramble ashore, but one slips off the rock and into the water, flailing. One of the sirens takes off and dives into the water to retrieve him, carrying him high into the air as he screams and then dropping him onto the rocks. There’s a sickening sound and his screaming stops abruptly. Four sirens climb up to his body and begin feasting.

Melinda shudders, but something makes her keep watching.

The remaining two men seem terrified, but one lays on his back and tries to cover his face while several sirens descend upon him while the other pulls a knife from his belt. Kara, Barbara, and three others surround him.

“No!” calls Melinda, horrified at the thought of Kara being hurt. Unfortunately, this causes not only many of the sirens to look at her, but also the man with the knife. He starts sprinting towards her, knife extended.

Kara makes some kind of screeching noise and takes off after him, landing in front of him as if to keep him from reaching Melinda. He doesn’t stop, barreling into her and sending her flying onto her back. The knife flashes in the sunlight as he holds it aloft.

Melinda can’t see what happens after that, but Kara’s screaming is clue enough. 

Some of the sirens drag him off of her and quickly end him, and Kara stands up, still crying and face streaked with blood, to launch herself at his body with a scream of rage. Frightened, Melinda dives into the water and swims away as quickly as she can.

\---

Melinda doesn’t visit Kara for a few days, unsure if she’ll want company after such a terrible injury. She goes to the cave and listens for her voice, but she doesn’t hear it. Phil comes with her on the third day - he knows what happened. “Perhaps she’s still healing,” he suggests. “It sounds as if she was badly hurt.”

“Maybe,” says Melinda. 

“Don’t give up hope,” adds Phil. “She might sing again tomorrow.”

But she doesn’t sing the next day, nor the day after that. Finally Melinda swims to the sirens’ island, fearing something terrible might have happened. She finds the sirens sunning themselves on the rocks as usual, but when she approaches they stare even more icily than the first time. The black-and-red-haired one, Victoria, calls, “Stay back, mermaid.”

Melinda stops, confused. “Have I done something wrong?” she asks. “Where’s Kara?”

“Kara is healing,” replies Victoria. “You can do nothing for her. Please leave.”

“Will she be alright?” Melinda asks. “When can I see her?”

“You won’t be seeing her again,” Victoria says. “If it hadn’t been for you, she wouldn’t be in pain right now. You caused this. Please leave us.”

Melinda frowns, but she nods. “I’ll go, but please, will you tell her...I’m sorry?” Before Victoria can answer, she darts away through the water. 

After that, she returns to her life before she met Kara: gathering food, talking and playing with the sea creatures and her fellow merfolk, exploring the ocean. She tries to put Kara out of her mind. 

Phil says to her one morning, “I hate seeing you so unhappy.”

“I’m not unhappy,” Melinda says. 

“You miss her,” Phil replies. “You should go back.”

Melinda shakes her head. “The sirens told me not to. They said it was my fault she got hurt - she must be angry with me. And she hasn’t sung since then.”

“Why would she be angry with you? You said she was trying to protect you. That was her choice.”

“She shouldn’t have  _ had _ to protect me!” snaps Melinda. “And now she might never sing again.”

“You don’t know that,” Phil says. “I think you should go try to see her again.”

“They might not let me.”

“I’ll go with you,” he offers. “Or, maybe I can sneak in and tell her to meet you so you can talk in private.”

“They’ll catch you,” Melinda says.

“I’m fast,” Phil replies, smiling.

So the next day Melinda swims to the spot they used to meet at, waiting for what seems like an eternity. Finally Phil appears, looking triumphant. “She’s coming,” he says. “She was sitting with the others while they sang, but not singing.”

Melinda feels her heart beat faster. “Is she okay?”

Phil frowns. “Well...you should see for yourself.”

He leaves to give them some privacy, and it’s not too much longer before Melinda spots Kara flying toward her. “Kara!” she calls. “I was worried about you.”

Kara lands clumsily on the rock, immediately placing one of her wings over most of her face. The only parts Melinda can see is the corner of her lips and one eye. “Hello,” she says. 

Melinda swims closer, so she’s at the base of the rock, close enough to reach out and touch Kara. She had a hundred things to say to her, but all that comes out is “I missed you.”

Kara makes a noise that might be a sob. “You shouldn’t have.”

Melinda frowns. “Of course I did. I worried for you, Kara.”

Kara growls. “You  _ shouldn’t _ have!” she repeats, almost shouting. “I told you to leave! I didn’t want-” She swallows and finishes. “I didn’t want you to see me like that. While I was...hunting. And then the man with the knife, I-”

“I’m sorry,” Melinda interrupts. “I told Victoria to tell you that, but I don’t know if she did. But I’m sorry you were hurt because of me. I’m sorry you haven’t been able to sing.”

“No!” Kara protests. “It’s not your fault, it’s mine! I was foolish, I wanted to protect you and I acted without thinking. And now my face is...I didn’t want you to see me.”

“You don’t have to show me,” Melinda says. “It wouldn’t matter to me anyway.”

Kara makes a vague noise and then suddenly moves her wing from her face. “Really?” she asks bitterly. “Is this still beautiful?”

Kara’s face is covered in red zigzag scars, which look horrible and painful. But Melinda doesn’t flinch, only says, “Yes.”

Kara shakes her head. “Don’t lie to me, please.”

“I’m not. I think you’re beautiful.” Melinda reaches up to gently run her fingers over Kara’s cheek. “And thank you for saving me. I never got to say that.”

When Melinda’s fingertips touch her skin, Kara closes her eyes for a second and sighs. “I’ve never been touched like that,” she says. 

“Could I touch you again?” Melinda asks, and when Kara nods Melinda leans up to kiss her. “I’m sorry,” she murmurs.

Kara laughs. “What are you apologizing for now?”

“I should have done that sooner,” says Melinda, kissing her again.


	9. wherever I went, I always knew, always knew until I didn't know

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WOW I just...just fuckin dropped this ball now didn't I
> 
> OH WELL I'll just post them whenever
> 
> Here's the ages and parents of everybody in SHIELD because I got carried away lmao:  
> Melinda - Athena (16)  
> Kara - Ares (15)  
> Phil - Hebe (16)  
> Leo - Hephaestus (12)  
> Jemma - Apollo (12)  
> Daisy - Poseidon (12)  
> Bobbi - Athena (15)  
> Mack - Hephaestus (15)   
> Elena - Hermes (15)  
> Trip - Nemesis (14)  
> Raina - Demeter (15)  
> Robbie - Hades (16)  
> Hunter - Tyche (16)  
> Lincoln - Poseidon (14)  
> Lorelei - Aphrodite (15)
> 
> (is Daisy Percy? MAYYYYYBE)  
> (also she and Lincoln aren't a thing in this universe obviously)

“So, are you gonna ask Kara out this year?” Bobbi asks Melinda as they’re both unpacking.

Melinda grimaces. “What?”

“Kara,” repeats Bobbi, smirking at her half-sister. “You know, from Cabin Five. The one you keep staring at whenever she does anything.”

“I don’t do that,” scoffs Melinda.

“Actually, you do,” chimes in Maria, the head counselor. 

Melinda rolls her eyes. “I’m not talking about this with you two.”

“C’mon,” coaxes Bobbi. “You like her. You should ask her out before somebody else does. If you don’t, Grant Ward might.”

Bruce, who made a beeline for the science books the instant he arrived and is now happily reading, groans. “I was hoping he wouldn’t be back this year.”

“I think we all were,” says Bobbi quietly.

Maria coughs. “He might not be  _ nice _ , but you shouldn’t wish death on him.”

“Hey! I wasn’t!” protests Bobbi. “I hoped maybe he would decide he was too old, that’s all.”

Snorting, Maria shakes her head. “Come on, let’s go to the welcome lunch. Please try not to get us all in trouble by being jerks.”

“I bet nobody in Cabin Eleven is reminding Grant to not be a jerk,” Bobbi mutters to Melinda as they head outside. 

\---

While Mr. D. gives his usual welcoming speech, Melinda tunes it out (she’s sixteen, how much impact can it really make a fourth time?) and looks around to see who’s here. She spots most of her friends: Phil from Cabin Eighteen, Mack from Cabin Nine, Elena from Cabin Eleven (and, unfortunately, Grant sitting at the same table), Trip from Cabin Sixteen, Raina from Cabin Four, Robbie from Cabin Thirteen, Hunter from Cabin Nineteen, Lincoln from Cabin Two, and Lorelei from Cabin Ten. Lincoln is sitting next to a new girl, probably about twelve, with short hair and big eyes. Mack has a little shadow too, a scrawny-looking pale boy with curly brown hair.

And then there’s Kara.

Kara’s fifteen and doesn’t say a whole lot, but she always looks like she’s sizing everyone else up for a fight. Melinda’s never seen her go out of her way to get in a fight, but she has a feeling that anyone unlucky enough to fight Kara would regret it. She’s usually nice, but she’s a daughter of Ares and Melinda’s seen her in sword class and during capture the flag. She wouldn’t want to get on Kara’s bad side. That makes her respect Kara.

(And Kara’s pretty, but that’s not relevant at all.)

They’ve gotten their schedules already, so after lunch is over Melinda heads to monster assault techniques class. She’s pleased to see that Elena is also in this class, and she sits down to chat with her for a few minutes before Kara also comes in.

Elena must notice the look on Melinda’s face, because she smirks and says, “You should go talk to her.” 

Melinda sighs. “Why is everyone obsessed with me talking to Kara?”

“Well, for once, Grant wouldn’t stop talking about how he was going to convince Kara to go out with him this year,” says Elena. “He said he had a plan to ‘wear her down,’ or something like that. He might be my half-brother, but I think he is an asshole and she deserves better than him.”

Melinda’s lips twitch. “And that’s me?”

“Yes.” Elena nods. “You are a much better person than him. Also, she has talked to you before without looking as if she wanted to punch you in the teeth. I’ve never seen her talk to him without making that sort of face.”

Melinda’s about to respond, but then, as if she’s heard what they’re talking about, Kara starts walking toward them. Elena nudges Melinda again and Melinda doesn’t have time to respond before Kara says, “Hi,” and offers Melinda a smile.

“Hi,” Melinda says, trying to seem normal. “Wanna sit with us?”

“Please.” Kara sits down on Melinda’s other side. “I was worried Grant would have this class. I think if he could switch all of his classes to match mine, he would.”

Melinda wrinkles her nose. “Ugh.”

“Yeah, ugh,” agrees Kara. “He hung around me a lot last summer, and I think it’ll only get worse this year. I wanna punch him, but I’d probably get in trouble for it.”

“Please, hit him for me!” says Elena. “I cannot, my counselor would raise hell, but if you could make it look like self-defense…”

“Sorry he’s so irritating,” Melinda says. 

“Thanks,” sighs Kara. “I told him I’m a lesbian a bunch of times, but he told me I’m too young to know that for sure. I’m fifteen, but  _ he’s _ sixteen, it’s not like he’s got more life experience than me!”

“Yeah,” says Melinda, although her heart is beating faster. She hadn’t known for sure if Kara liked girls, and now that she does…

But before she can figure out what else to say, the teacher calls them to attention, and soon she’s too busy trying to absorb new fighting moves to think about what to do about Kara.

\---

Melinda waits, unsure of how exactly to make her move, until one day during free time when she’s taking a walk and she hears yelling from nearby. 

“I told you to  _ leave me alone,  _ Grant! _ ” _

Melinda heads toward the voice, walking a little faster. She finds a tree to duck behind, but she can clearly see Kara coming this way and Grant following her. “I’m  _ not _ interested!” Kara’s saying, turning around to face him. “How many times do I have to say it?”

“Why are you getting so angry?” Grant asks, sounding pretty pissed-off himself. “I was just asking if you wanted to hang out until dinner.”

“You’ve been bugging me since last year,” Kara says. “And I keep telling you,  _ no _ . I’m gay, Grant, I don’t want to date you!”

“C’mon,” Grant coaxes. “I thought you said you were still figuring that stuff out. Can’t you make an exception?”

“No,” says Kara, “and especially not for you.”

Grant reaches forward to grab her arm, and Melinda almost steps out to help, but of course, Kara’s more than capable of taking care of herself. Her fist darts forward to punch Grant square in the nose, sending him reeling back. “ _ Don’t  _ touch me ever again!” yells Kara. “Or next time my fist is going up your ass!”

Grant, doubled over and his his hands over his nose, groans, “I’m gonna get you in so much trouble with Mr. D. and Chiron-”

At this point Melinda steps out and calls, “No you won’t. I saw what happened. It was self-defense.”

Grant, seeing that they’re not as alone as he thought, flees, still holding his nose. Kara, smirking, turns to look at Melinda. “Thanks,” she says. “I mean, I had it under control, but I appreciate you having my back.”

Melinda nods. “Of course. That guy’s an asshole.”

“I don’t know why he’s so obsessed with me,” says Kara, shaking her head. “I said I was gay  _ so _ many times...last summer I said it and I wasn’t even sure I was, I just wanted him to stop talking to me.” She clenches her fist. 

“Well, at least he finally listened to something,” Melinda says. “I’m pretty sure not even Mr. D. likes him that much, anyway.”

Kara grins, eyes gleaming. “I bet he doesn’t. What are you doing out here?”

Melinda shrugs and replies “Walking” in what she hopes is a nonchalant tone.

“Can I join you?” Kara asks. “It’ll feel, I dunno, safer to be with someone else in case he decides to tell people I just hit him out of nowhere.”

“I’ll definitely make sure they know the truth.”

“Thanks.” 

Their walk is nice, but mostly silent, and Melinda’s not entirely sure if Kara even likes her as a person (let alone the other way) until that Friday’s game of capture the flag. Melinda is running through opponent’s territory, looking for the flag, when she spots Kara. Kara sees her too, looks around to make sure no one is looking, then nods at Melinda and runs by her without even trying to tag her out.

Interesting. Melinda’s never seen her not be ridiculously competitive.

When she mentions this to Bobbi later, Bobbi says, “Okay, but now you  _ have _ to ask her out. She pretty much told you she likes you in the most Ares way possible.”

Melinda sighs, but when she asks Kara if she wants to go for a walk the next day, Kara beams and nods. They end up playing around and shadowboxing a little, and Kara kicks her ass but not embarrassingly so. On the way back to camp Kara grabs Melinda’s hand and holds it. She doesn’t say make a big deal about it, so Melinda doesn’t either, but it’s nice.


End file.
